MI stands for Myocardial Infarction (scientific name for Heart Attack), so you may hear medical staff refer to it as “MI”.
I had my first appointment today with the Heart Clinic. It wasn’t with any of the doctors who saved my life; this was with nurses from the Clinic to follow up and gather all of my information/medical history. This first appointment took a while, but they said it was because they needed to gather so much information at the initial appointment. Everyone was extremely nice and only had great things to say about the cardiologists that worked on me in the hospital.
I came in with a list of questions (as usual), but I hardly slept the night before because this appointment was like Christmas to me! I couldn’t wait for this follow-up so I could ask questions that I hadn’t yet asked and talk about side effects, prognosis, etc. They had a lot of questions for me, too. First, they needed to get my medical history, then my family’s medical history (mainly my dad’s and my Uncle Edward’s). Due to my strong family history of heart disease, the clinic will be watching me closely so I don’t have another MI. My dad had a quadruple by-pass (it was an emergency open heart surgery when he went in for a routine appointment) when he was about 53. He is still alive. My Uncle (dad’s older brother by 2 years) had a quadruple by-pass (emergency open heart surgery when he was in surgery for stomach cancer). He had also suffered a heart attack during the surgery for his stomach, which is how they caught his problem. He was about 43. He survived but went on to have another minor heart attack a few years later and then a massive heart attack, which killed him, when he was 60. I believe all of my dad’s siblings and both parents have had open heart surgery (multiple bypasses). Only one Uncle is left (everyone else succumbed to ailments other than heart failure), and as a result of hearing of my “episode” and the symptoms I had leading up to it, decided to pay his doctor a visit the next week because he was having similar symptoms. Turns out, he has a blockage (not an emergency) and will be getting another stent placed next week.
I digress…so back to my Heart Clinic visit…
I mentioned to the nurses that I had what I thought were heart palpitations 2 days ago, along with a low blood pressure reading (80 something over 50 something). They said that I should have contacted them right away so they could assess the problem. I told them that I also have anxiety and wasn’t sure if it was actual palpitations or the fluttery anxious feeling I get when I’m stressed or nervous (nervous about my health!). They said that palpitations could be brought on by low blood pressure and if it happens again to drink a lot of water (however, I cannot drink more than 2 liters of liquid in a 24 hour period) and to call them. What I didn’t realize, and much to my RELIEF, is that the Clinic is 24 hours – rather, they have a night nurse. So I can call at any time, day or night, and a nurse can assist me…unless I’m having a known emergency and then I should call 911. They would rather treat me as an outpatient rather than put me in the hospital again. I now need to program these #s into my phone.
They suggested that I could purchase a sphygmomanometer (fancy word for blood pressure cuff) online that could sync to my iPhone. They also suggested that I get my current one calibrated (I’m using my dad’s) at the fire department as the readings seem to be low. How exciting!
I also addressed the allergic reaction to my statin. Last week, I broke out with a rash all over my torso. I’ve never had a rash before. I was told to stop taking my statin and to take Benadryl until my appointment today. The rash has cleared up. Although the nurses today didn’t really think the statin caused me to break out, they have changed my medicine to Crestor* (from Atorvastatin).
During the appointment, the nurses were looking through my hospital records and discussed my ultrasound results with me. The ejection fraction of my heart the night of my heart attack was about 15-20%…it should be at least 50%. However, they were missing the results of the 2nd ultrasound that I had 3 days later. Those results showed the ejection fraction to be about 45%, which shows my heart is healing and getting stronger; but it is still not strong enough. The nurse had to call my Cardiologist to get this info, and my Cardiologist asked to say hello to me on the phone! So the nurse handed her cell phone to me so I could speak with my Cardiologist! What great and personalized service! He did remind me that he saved my life and had it not been for him, I would not be alive. I am forever grateful!! He said he would like to see me next week in his office and he’d like for me to have a follow up with the nurses in 3 weeks. This is great! I want to see my doctors as much as possible so we can learn from each other, and so they can take every step to get me healthy again and track my heart’s progress.
I asked about exercise to see what I can and can’t do and what I am capable of doing safely. They recommended that I walk for 30 mins everyday. Of course, I can build up to that with 10 mins a day to start. They would like to see me gain my independence back. And on that note, I moved back to my home today (was staying with my parents after the hospital).
The nurses did give me homework until the next appointment; and although I’m not in school, I welcomed this homework with open arms! I need to track my blood pressure, heart rate, and weight every single day. This will help them gauge how well my meds are working and how my heart is responding to them. They will also have a dietitian and a pharmacist meet with me on my next appointment so all of my diet and drug interaction questions can be answered. For example, the doctor said I cannot eat dairy or fried foods anymore – does that mean forever?? It is so hard being a pescetarian vegan. I want cheese SO BAD! But let me take this moment to remind myself that CHEESE may be the reason that I had the heart attack!!
All in all, the visit to the Heart Clinic was great. I look forward to my next appointment.
*Crestor – the new statin they’ve prescribed me – is a brand name drug and was going to cost $48 with my insurance! I paid $66 for all of my cardiac meds combined when I left the hospital! Thankfully, I searched online and found a coupon from Crestor’s website for a free 30 day trial. I took this to the pharmacy. They were not able to process that 30 day free trial (for whatever reason), but they found another coupon for Crestor that brought my co-pay down to $18! I would hate if I paid $48 for this and find out I am allergic to it, too. It pays to do a little research, and it’s great to have a pharmacy that is patient with me. 🙂
I went to the fire department tonight hoping to meet a hot firefighter who could calibrate my blood pressure cuff. Disappointment!!! I was told that fire stations do not calibrate blood pressure cuffs!! However, they were super nice and researched it online and called the cuff company to find out how to get it calibrated. Turns out, it is cheaper for me to just buy a new one. I will look into the ones that sync up to iPhone. I wonder if my insurance will pay for it…
I apologize for not making this all so much more inviting and interesting with photos and such, but I just got a new iPhone today, so I will be sure to experiment with the camera function.